The Rebirth of an Ill-Fated Consort (Chapters 1- 203)

Chapter 87 : Prophecy

Xuan Li and Li An walked slowly towards Hui Jue. When they got near him, Xuan Li smiled gently. "Did everything Great Master just say, true?"

"A monk never tells lies." Hui Jue answered faintly.

Xuan Li and Li An looked at each other. Li An suddenly stared at Hui Jue. "Great Master, what do you suggest we do next?"

"Disaster has arrived and is imminent. We should not treat the lives of thousands of people downstream of the reservoir as a trifling matter. Please evacuate those families near the reservoir overnight to a higher ground so as to avoid flooding."

On hearing this, Li An chuckled.

Xuan Li looked at Li An and smiled. He still appeared gentle, but there was a chill in his voice. "Does Great Master know the fate of disturbing people's hearts?"

Hui Jue returned his gaze indifferently, neither avoiding nor yielding. He was as lucid as the lotus that rose above the profane world.

Xuan Li initially thought he was a common swindler. But when he saw that the Buddhist monk possessed a remarkable temperament and repeatedly insisted that the people downstream be relocated, he became suspicious. His subconscious told him that this man must have been someone that Fifth Prince sent over to rob his merit. Moving all of the commoners' families was not a trifling matter. If he really did so, when everything turned out to be safe and sound, not only would the people's power be wasted, but he would also be sneered at by everyone under the heavens that he was gullible, believing the evil monk's lies.

Staring at Hui Jue's face, Xuan Li felt increasingly repulsed. The Astronomical Bureau's[2] personnel also said that the rain showed a sign of stopping. As his meritorious deed was in plain sight, Fifth Prince wanted to meddle? That's treating his people as idiots!

[2] T/N: Astronomy in China has history. As tradition dictated that the rulers of China, first kings and later emperors, should receive their political mandate from the sky, astronomy soon became a dominant science in China. The main responsibility of political power was to keep the Earth in total harmony with the sky. This obligation was called the 'Mandate of Heaven' and the emperor himself was called Tian Zi 天子, the Son of Heaven. The stars themselves were bestowed with astrological meaning, both enabling predictions that influenced daily life as well as major political strategies, and thus astronomy swiftly became a powerful political tool. One very positive consequence of the Mandate of Heaven on Chinese history was the appointment of a special group of imperial officers who included astronomers, astrologers and meteorologists. These officials were ordered by the emperor to monitor the sky, looking for astrological omens and astronomical phenomena. More details .

"Is there any evidence for Great Master Hui Jue to say so?" Xuan Li was calm and composed.

Hui Jue bowed his head. "Amitabha Buddha. It's a divination using the trigrams. The divination image has been revealed, this poor monk has no evidence."

"If there is no evidence, your remarks are the equivalent to deluding the public with lies." Xuan Li spoke. Fifth Prince's trick was so clumsy, he simply didn't put too much thought into it.

"Great Master is not that kind of person!"

"Yes, everything Great Master said has come true!"

"What Great Master said must be true!"

To Xuan Li's surprise, most of the crowd went along with Hui Jue. Even though his brows wrinkled, Xuan Li remained calm and collected. Did Fifth Prince invite such a person to use Hui Jue's reputation to force him to give this order?

He sneered in his heart. Unfortunately for them, he had never been manipulated by others! "Without any evidence, it's just empty rhetoric, Great Master. Out of the mouth comes evil." Xuan Li still wanted to settle the matter easily, to maintain his image as a good nobleman.